If the Bears cannot re-sign some of these players, especially Hayden, Louis, Roach, Scott and Urlacher, the team likely will try to replace them with veteran free agents from other teams.

It is possible the Bears are waiting until the eleventh hour to try to make moves with some of their players. It also is possible some of the players' agents are waiting until the eleventh hour to accept offers from the team.

Agents for players with expiring contracts have been allowed to negotiate with other teams since Saturday, so by Tuesday everyone should have a pretty good idea of what each player's market value is.

A player receiving little interest elsewhere might be more apt to accept an offer from his old team, even if it is less than what he was hoping for.

For instance, it has been reported Urlacher is seeking $5 million for the 2013 season. But if his agents have found no team willing to pay that much, Urlacher might be more inclined to take, say, $3 million or $4 million from the Bears.

The Bears also could make some late moves in order to clear cap space. They are believed to be a little more than $6.5 million under the cap.

If the Bears intend to sign any of their own players and add a big fish in free agency, they will need to create cap room, either by restructuring deals, extending contracts or cutting players.

The Bears have talked to the agents for many, many free agents to be. Every team has, because there are so many possibilities and so many moving parts.

As a result, early discussions with agents are not necessarily reliable indicators of which players teams might make offers to.

That being said, sources indicated the team has shown interest in left tackle Jermon Bushrod of the Saints and tight end Jared Cook of the Titans. It is unlikely the Bears could sign both, however.

The possibility of a surprise move also cannot be discounted. At this time one year ago, Bears general manager Phil Emery pulled a shocker by trading for wide receiver Brandon Marshall.